The crew of Apollo 17, the last one to visit the moon, consisted of Gene Cernan, Ronald E. Evans, and Harrison H. Schmitt. They seem to have had a lot of fun on their 12-day mission judging by all the photos they took in Dec. 1972. less

The crew of Apollo 17, the last one to visit the moon, consisted of Gene Cernan, Ronald E. Evans, and Harrison H. Schmitt. They seem to have had a lot of fun on their 12-day mission judging by all the photos … more

A waning crescent moon rises over the stars and stripes at Allen Samuels Dodge on the Katy Freeway near Mason Rd. in the early morning hours of Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010, in Houston.

A waning crescent moon rises over the stars and stripes at Allen Samuels Dodge on the Katy Freeway near Mason Rd. in the early morning hours of Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010, in Houston.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Houston Chronicle

Houston 3D printing company among NASA iTech winners

A Houston company that specializes in 3D printed models of human tissues and organs is one of three winners in a NASA iTech competition.

Lazarus 3D prints organ and tissue models for medical training, with a goal of improving surgery planning, minimizing medical errors and revolutionizing best practices in medicine.

And its technology to print soft materials could have applications in space, which made it desirable to the NASA iTech Initiativeseeking innovative ideas in five technologies critical for future exploration: artificial intelligence, augmented reality advancement, autonomy, high-performance computing and medical breakthroughs.

“This event is going to help us translate our technologies and make them have real-world effects,” Jacques Zaneveld, co-founder of Lazarus 3D, said in the news release.

The other winning companies were Cambridge, Mass.-based Analytical Space, with its data relay network solution that uses small spacecraft to get satellite data back to Earth quickly and affordably, and Miami-based One Milo, with its compact devices to enable rapid diagnostic testing, using blood, urine or saliva, and then to wirelessly send results to a smartphone app.

Moving forward, NASA iTech will mentor these companies and offer subject matter expertise as the they bring their ideas to market.